Sing me, Sing me, baby
by underastarlessnight
Summary: Drugs. Super-powers. Jughead is the corrupt leader of The Serpents, a gang who sell drugs that give kids strange abilities. When Betty Cooper's friends Archie and Veronica join his gang, Betty is determined to save them. But she finds herself slowly falling for the lonely boy who hides under the bad-boy, villainous facade. Maybe she might get powers of her own. /Bughead/
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The girl's bathroom was quiet with the only sound being Kevin Keller's yells from outside as he threw himself repeatedly into the door. Betty Cooper flinched at every thump, every creak, as Kevin got progressively more violent. Betty stood over the porcelain sinks lining the wall and took a deep shuddery breath. Her hands were shaking and she clenched them tightly into fists and gritted her teeth. She could totally do this. Betty's gaze left the floor where she had been meticulously scanning each tile as if each one held a key to the creation of the universe. Or some people might call it stalling. She glanced into the mirror stuck to the wall. There were smudges of lipstick where girls had leaned forward and given their reflection a quick kiss before heading to class. She used to be one of them girls.

But beyond the cherry red lipstick stains was her own reflection. Betty winced, frowning at her reflection which was fragmented from the two inch crack splitting the mirror and her face into jagged fractures. It was like looking into a fun mirror or she was the poster girl for the latest edgy teen YA novel. She still didn't look like herself even if she was pretty much one of the last "normals" in Riverdale High. Betty would normally have her hair in a tight ponytail and wear something simple like a pastel pink sweater and skirt but _normal_ had crashed and burned.

Instead, Betty hadn't bothered brushing her blonde hair and let it fall to her shoulders in rats tails. She was wearing her pyjama shirt under some sweater she had taken out of Polly's room and some old scuffed jeans stained with paint. Betty wasn't going insane however. She wasn't planning on joining the masses and giving into peer pressure, even if that meant getting Archie and Veronica back. No. This was a mission, the clothes and look was a façade and she was sacrificing herself. Her sanity. Life. Whatever. To get to the bottom of the drug that should have been impossible. It should have had its own Sci-Fi movie or Television series with mediocre teen actors. Yet it wasn't. It was real. It was happening to her, and she felt like she was the only normal kid left. Well. There was Kevin too. Who had repeatedly insisted _he_ would do it instead but Kevin Keller was one of her closest friends; there was no way she was going to watch him lose himself too.

Of course there was that small voice in her head. Just like the one that had cemented itself inside her consciousness at 13 when Cheryl Blossom had offered her a cigarette. _Maybe I'll be cool_. She had thought, as she had awkwardly stuck the cigarette between her lips and took a few shaky drags before nearly hacking up her lungs… but that was seventh grade. That was Betty trying to act cooler than she was so Cheryl Blossom would accept her. This voice, however? It was different. This one was louder and dominant.

 _If I take the drug- Archie and Veronica will talk to me again._ Though that was her selfishness speaking. Yes, she wanted to snap her friends out of it but she also wanted to know what the hell the drug _was._ How had the Serpents come into contact with it? And what the hell had it done to her friends and the majority of the Student Body? Betty felt her heart leap into her throat when there was another loud bang. Kevin's shoulder VS the girl's bathroom door. She wasn't sure who was going to win. After all, before all of the craziness, her friend had been taking regular trips to the gym.

'Betty, you do realise what you're doing right?' Kevin shouted. She could hear him pummelling his fists on the old hardwood door, desperate to get in. 'Betty, open the goddamn door!' But she ignored him. The girl's bathroom might be run-down and have no toilet paper and a broken mirror but it _did_ have a pretty sturdy lock installed which made it even easier for the popular girls to abuse it. Kevin wasn't exactly The Hulk but she was starting to get wary of his strength. She could practically hear the lock mechanism groaning under the boy's weight. She considered locking herself in one of the stalls just in case he actually got through. 'Betty!' With every thump, Kevin's voice was getting louder which was surely going to attract a teacher. _Fuck_. Though the faculty at RHS had made it clear they wanted no part in all of the craziness. Either that or The Serpents had blackmailed them. 'Betty, I swear to God, if you _touch_ that stuff, I'll never forgive you-'

Her breath came out shuddery.

'Shut up,' she said shakily but her voice was so quiet she could barely hear herself. And then she repeated it; 'Just shut up. Shut up!' Her hands came down and she was gripping the edge of the sink, breathing heavily. She had to do this now. Betty swallowed hard. If she didn't, she never would and would regret it for the rest of her life.

Betty reached into the pocket of her sister's sweater and pulled out a small baggie, holding it up in front of her face and peering at the mound of white powder sitting at the bottom. It totally looked like Cocaine. She wrinkled her nose. Betty had never done drugs and was pretty sure she never _would_ do drugs. That was until Jingle Jangle. Until her best friends Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews had gone to the dark side and Riverdale High had turned into Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Betty couldn't stop her hands shaking as she neatly poured out the powder from the baggie onto the edge of the sink before digging into her bag and pulling out one of her text books. _I can't believe I'm doing this_. Kevin's shrieks from outside made it almost impossible for her trembling hands to roll a piece of her torn textbook into a feasible tube before she ducked down and held her breath. _Just do it._ She thought. Her heart slammed into her chest in sync with Kevin as he battered on the door relentlessly.

She stared at the white powder and dug around in it with the paper tube, fashioning it into a little line. Betty's stomach twisted with nausea, her chest ached but she had to do it. She leaned closer and quickly before she could hesitate, snorted the entire line before stumbling backwards with a yelp. Her nostril burned. Like she had just stabbed a hot rod up her nose. Betty held her hand over her nose for a second, breathing heavily. She expected to feel… _different_.

But she didn't. She whipped around and stared at herself in the mirror. Same old blue eyes staring back. Same pale face. Twisted lips. She caught a smear of the stuff on the edge of her nostril and wiped it away with the brush of a fingertip. Betty stood there for a few seconds staring into the bathroom mirror before the door flew open, making her jump backwards. None other than Jughead Jones was striding through followed by Kevin who looked dishevelled. Well he would do. He had been fighting a door for the last half an hour. Betty attempted to compose herself and cleared her throat, biting her lip. Her nostril continued to burn away and she started to feel sick. Jughead frowned at her, squinting at her through her crummy disguise. Before he seemed to snap out of it, straightening up.

Jughead Jones had been one of the first to be drastically altered by Jingle Jangle. Going from a quiet kid always sitting on his laptop to the leader of The South-side Serpents. Also; the assholes who had sold Archie and Veronica life altering drugs. Jughead was handsome, she had to admit that. He had dark hair which was always a mess, underneath a knitted beanie. He wore his black serpent jacket and jeans as well as the permanent look of irritation clear in his eyes and twisted on his lips. Kevin stood next to him looking like he was two seconds away from ripping her head off. He shook his head of dark hair and only scowled at her.

'Did you take it?' Jughead demanded, his dark eyes glowering at her. Betty didn't back down; she glared right back.

'Oh, so _now_ you want to help me?' She spat and he looked momentarily taken aback. The boy hissed out an annoyed breath.

'It's a simple question, Cooper.' He growled, spacing out his words like she was a baby. 'Did. You. Take. It?' Betty shuffled uncomfortably. She took a few steps backwards and found herself pressed against the wall. The two boys only advanced closer.

'This is the girl's bathroom,' she ended up choking out, lamely. Her eyes were on the clear baggie which had landed on the floor in her panic. Jughead sighed, his tone softening.

'Look, all I want to know is if you've taken it.' Betty hesitated for a second.

'Yes.' She murmured, unable to meet his gaze. 'Yeah, I took it.' She kept her eyes glued to the floor. Her head was starting to thump. She started to panic. _Oh god, why did I take it?_ 'Because you wouldn't help me.' She growled at the boy. She hated the way she sounded, like she was a little kid trying to explain herself. When she finally looked up though, to her surprise, she was met with two completely different expressions. One was Kevin. Staring at her in mute horror, his eyes wide… and then there was Jughead. His lips had curved into what she could only presume was a smile. She had never seen him smile. There was a glint in his eyes which was suddenly strangely enticing.

'Nice.' He smirked, losing the look of horror- of terror- that he had entered the girl's bathroom with. He looked Betty up and down before shrugging a little, his smirk fashioning into a fully fledged grin. 'Welcome to The Serpents, Betty Cooper.'

 **CHAPTER ONE**

It was so cold Betty was sure her hands were going to drop off, even when she had bothered wearing gloves. She blew out a shaky breath, momentarily fascinated as it swirled around her like smoke. She tugged the hood of her sweater over her blonde hair and squeezed her arms tighter around her chest. Archie was late which was ridiculous because they were next door neighbours. She stood on his lawn by the sprinkler and did a little shuffle dance to keep warm. It was only the middle of October yet she was pretty sure her nose had turned a bright pink and her fingers were five minutes from shrivelling up and dropping off.

 _This was all Veronica's fault._ Betty thought bitterly towards her best friend, who was also Archie's girlfriend. If the girl hadn't have sent her a cryptic text with just a time and a place- she wouldn't be outside in the freezing cold staring up at Archie's window. He had texted her that he would "Out in ten minutes" but in Archie speak; it really meant half an hour which she was sure was the amount of time she had been standing there like a fool for. Betty let out a quiet puff of irritation and pulled her phone out her pocket, glancing at the list of notifications lighting up her screen. The text from Veronica was still there. She frowned at it, pursing her lips. Why exactly had Veronica texted her and Archie in the dead of night? If Betty's Mother realised she had slipped out at 3am, she would surely ground her but the curiosity was killing her. Betty read and re-read the text over and over again.

 **Ronnie: 2:54am - Aspen Field. 3:15. I'll explain when you get there.** That's all it said. There was no string of kisses like normal or an emoji heart. It was just a vague instruction. Thankfully, Archie had been awake. He had been binging some crime TV drama on Netflix. All she had to do was wander over to her window. He had his curtains open so she got the full view of Archie Andrews sprawled on his bed with his laptop balanced strategically on his lap as he stared dead-eyed at the screen. Though it was like he had some kind of sixth sense. He glanced up, not even a moment after she initially began her one-way stare off, waiting for him to realise. It only took one look and he was jumping up, clumsily knocking his laptop off his bed before pulling a shirt on.

That had been almost twenty five minutes ago. Veronica's text said **3:15** and it was **3:07.** Thank god for small towns. Aspen Field was an old football field the community had turned into a desolate patch of land. Or, what Archie, Betty and the kids of Riverdale called it; The closest thing they had to a park. It was just on the other side of Riverdale which was only a five minutes drive. Though she would definitely make Archie step on it. A few minutes later while she was scrolling through Instagram, the Andrews door finally flew open as Archie Andrews hurried out, wrestling to get his jacket on with one hand. He rushed over and all of her irritation at the redhead dispersed when she realized he was holding a steaming cup of hot cocoa.

'Sorry I'm late!' Archie looked flustered. He had pulled a navy beanie over his dark red hair and she could hear his teeth chattering.

'Jesus, Betty, why didn't you just come inside?' She took the mug gratefully, sipping the hot liquid before grasping it with both hands. There was a sunshine painted on the side. Oh, how she missed the sun.

'I didn't want to make noise.' Betty quickly drained the hot cocoa and Archie dumped the cup back inside before the two of them hurried down his lawn, Archie tripping over the sprinkler and Betty letting out an ugly snort of laughter. 'You do that _every time!'_ Archie rushed over to his beaten up truck. The one his dad had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday.

'So, what's all this about?' The redhead asked. Betty sighed and yanked open the passenger door.

'Ronnie is at Aspen field at 3am and that's about as much as I know,' she snorted, and the boy shrugged.

'Sounds about right.' He smirked at her. The two of them climbed in Archie's truck and he thumbed on the heating, and Betty let out a breath of relief as warm air blasted her in the face. Archie started the truck and she leaned back with a sigh, glancing out of the window to see if her Mother had come out to shout at her but the Cooper household was quiet and dark. The car started to cruise forwards and she sighed again, leaning her head into the soft upholstery leather.

Archie flicked on the radio and the two of them engaged in small-talk and occasionally sang along to the all night pop station blasting from the airwaves, though Betty could tell the redhead was apprehensive and maybe a little tense about the whole situation. Betty kept going over the reasons why Veronica would be in an abandoned field in the middle of the night. Her stomach dropped and she shuffled uncomfortably on her seat. Was something wrong? Did Veronica need help?

If it was an emergency though, she wouldn't give them a specific time. Betty lay her head on the window, occasionally lifting it to shoot amused glances at Archie who was getting way too into an AC/DC song. Though the mood dampened as they grew closer to their destination. The streets were desolate, dotted with lampposts emitting a warm orangeade light. Archie let out a sigh and gripped the steering wheel.

'I don't get it,' he turned down a lane leading to the ancient parking lot that had long since been abandoned. 'Where are we even going?' Grass was starting to sprout through the cracked concrete from years of neglect. Betty sat up when Archie parked up, and the two of them briefly exchanged glances before jumping out of the car. Archie tapped his phone, flicking on the flash-light, shining it directly in Betty's face. She shaded her eyes, giggling.

'Dude, get that out of my face!' He lowered the beam, chuckling. 'So, it's this way right?' Betty muttered uncertainly. Archie nodded.

'Mm.' The two of them started to traipse through the the undergrowth spewing from the uneven gravel. They made it over to a wire fence and Archie grabbed it, shaking the structure. 'How the hell are we supposed to get over here?' He groaned. Betty heard his phone vibrate in his jacket and he let go of the fence, pulling it out. Betty frowned at the fence. It was way too high to attempt to get over. How had Veronica managed it?

'She says we need to backtrack..' Archie let out a hiss of frustration, stumbling a little. 'Ronnie?' He shouted. 'Hey, stop playing games and come out!' He started forwards again, and Betty followed anxiously, wincing every time her boot caught a dead branch or she stamped in bog. The two of them were standing bang smack in the middle of Aspen Field. Betty stood shivering in the October chill as it blew her hair around billowing strands in her face. She folded her arms and gritted her teeth. Trying to squeeze as much warmth into her chest as possible. Archie stood next to her and frowned, playing with his beanie. His gaze wandered aimlessly around the field of long grass and weeds. 'Where is she?' He muttered, before his phone illuminated once again with a text.

Betty felt her heart leap into her throat. What game was Veronica playing? She leaned into Archie for warmth, peering at his phone. 'What does it say?' She hissed, before whipping her head around at the sound of something snapping. _Just a twig_. She thought. She turned back to Archie who was staring down at his phone. 'Archie?' She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Archie looked up, looking confused. His brown eyes were wide in the torch light. He tipped his head back, strands of his dark red hair falling in his eyes. He peered at the midnight sky dotted with stars. 'It just says one thing.' He murmured; 'Look up.'

Betty followed his gaze. At first there was nothing, and she felt like an idiot. If Veronica was planning on jumping out at them and scarring them for life, that would be the perfect time. But then she heard the breath catch in Archie's throat, and he squinted at the sky. 'No way.' He murmured. Betty grimaced. 'What?' She couldn't see anything.

'Archie, what are you talking-'

But then she _did_ see it. But it wasn't an _it._ Betty felt all logic, every answer to science and evolution she knew fly out of her brain like a plug had been pulled. She was staring at Veronica Lodge, her best friend, floating- _hovering_ above her. Though there were no strings attached, nothing suspending her. She had no wings. No...anything. Veronica was staring down at them grinning wildly, her dark hair whipping around her face. Archie didn't say anything, only stumbling backwards with a breathy gasp and Betty was speechless.

The two of them only continued to stare upwards at their friend, and Betty blinked once and then twice. But she wasn't dreaming. The bitter breeze still played with her hair and tickled her neck with gooseflesh. No, she wasn't dreaming at all. What she was seeing was real. She was seeing her best friend, captain of RHS cheerleading squad. Veronica Lodge.

And she was flying.

 _flashback_

'Ow!'

Betty flinched every time Veronica let out a hiss of pain. But she couldn't do anything about it. Her hands were shaking as she delicately picked out grey and white feathers which were jaggedly sticking out of her best friend's back. The sight was straight out of a horror movie. Veronica was sat, perched on one of the desks in a classroom they had managed to barricade. It had taken Betty at least an hour to pick up the courage to tear off Veronica's shirt. It had been bad enough with it on. Two ugly jagged gashes had seemingly appeared just on her bra-line. They were only narrow at first. Though that was where the problem only began. It only got worse. The gashes had started to expand and Veronica had started to itch irritably at them, before her hand had come back streaked with red and covered in tiny white and grey feathers.

Veronica held her breath when Betty gently plucked out another feather which had protruded from the left gash. She felt the girl tremble as blood slowly seeped down her smooth olive back. 'Is it bad?' Veronica whispered. Betty couldn't answer. She had seen this before. Well, kind of. In fiction at least. Two wounds exactly the same length sticking out of her best friend's back. And then there were the feathers. Betty was almost certainly sure it had something to do with Veronica's sudden ability to be able to fly. Somehow- this all made sense. If the girl could fly- then….of course she would start to grow wings. Betty cringed when she pulled out another feather. This time it was a big one. It was stained scarlet. She swallowed hard and dropped the feather onto the floor with the rest. The two of them had been sitting there for almost all of fourth period. Veronica had texted her when she had been in Biology with a string of exclamation marks and gibberish text. Of course she had panicked and made an excuse to her biology teacher, before hurrying to find her friend and finding…. _this._

At the time, Veronica had been crying and squeaking out in pain, her fingernails dripping claret as she ripped at her back, clawing at her baby-pink t-shirt that had been dyed a terrifying red. She had been pulling out fluffy feathers that were flying in a whirlwind around her. Betty had managed to catch a hold of herself, and calm the girl down before attempting to remove the feathers herself. It wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

 _'A_ ll done.' Betty whispered. She had lost the ability to use her proper voice. Veronica was definitely not "all done". The wounds in her back were only expanding more and more. But the feathers had stopped- _for now._ Betty stared at Veronica's back, and her gaze flickered to the girl's ruined shirt crumpled on the floor. The shirt was done for. Whatever had sliced two gashes into her back had also done the same to her shirt. _Wings_. Betty thought dizzily.

'Where's Archie?' Veronica asked softly. Betty's chest tightened. She wasn't actually sure. The last time she had seen him was this morning, outside his locker. Before his Bulldog team-mates had dragged him away. 'Classes.' She replied coolly. But he hadn't been at their usual table at lunch, or in English Literature. She made a mental note to text him.

Veronica hopped off the desk and turned to her. Betty held her breath. Veronica Lodge seemed even _more_ beautiful than she already was. Her golden skin seemed to glow. But her expression was twisted. Terrified. The girl's eyes were wide. 'What's happening to me?'

Betty had been meaning to ask. She just wasn't sure how, but now seemed like the perfect time. She shuffled uncomfortably, crossing one leg over the other. Veronica folded her arms across her chest. She looked ridiculous standing there in her bra. Yet somehow she also seemed to resemble a Greek goddess. 'Ronnie, How exactly did you…' Betty trailed off with a sigh. But Veronica seemed to understand. She ducked her head, her dark hair hiding her face.

How had she managed to fly. That question had been bouncing around Betty's brain ever since she had witnessed the phenomenon for herself with Archie, three days ago. Ever since, Archie had thrown himself into research, desperately trying to find an answer. They were all looking for one. But all they had managed to do was watch the film "Chronicle" three times. Veronica had of course embraced her new ability. How could she not? That was until feathers had started growing out of her, and now her back was splattered with gore. Bloody feathers poking from her golden skin.

'Jingle Jangle.' Veronica murmured. Betty swore she hadn't heard the girl right. 'What?'

Veronica sighed. 'Some guy from my History class approached me the other day and asked if I wanted to buy some "Jingle Jangle" or whatever. He said it'll make me fly.' She snorted, lifting her head to look at Betty. 'I didn't think he meant _literally.'_

'And what's Jingle Jangle?' Betty whispered.

Veronica shrugged. 'I thought it was some kind of Legal High. Clearly I was wrong.' The girl's lip curled slightly. 'Well, I was kind of right.'

Betty stared at the girl, ignoring the pun and was unsure whether to yell at her for _buying drugs_ or yell at her for not telling her sooner. In the end she took a shaky step forwards and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl. 'So, you think the drugs did this to you?' She asked, after stepping away. She pulled off her own sweater she was wearing over a checked shirt. 'Put this on.'

Veronica took the shirt gratefully and pulled it on gently, careful not to _trigger_ whatever the hell had sliced neatly through her back in the first place. 'I think so?' The girl murmured, smoothing down the sweater. Her expression brightened. The shirt suited her pretty well. 'But...I've been hearing rumours about kids who take the drug,' Veronica said, sitting back down on the desk. She itched her back irritably and stared down at her blood stained hands. There were still bits of feather stuck to them. Veronica sighed. 'Betty, The Jingle Jangle, or whatever it is- it's doing something to the kids that take it.'

Betty smirked. 'No kidding.' She muttered. Veronica rolled her eyes.

'No, listen to me. Reggie Mantle threw his teacher into a wall. Cheryl Blossom? She jumped from the top floor of the school and didn't break every bone in her body!' she hissed. 'Betty, it's like kids are-' Veronica trailed off and Betty frowned, confused. But the girl carried on, pressing her fingers to her temples. Betty could sense Veronica was in pain.

'Okay, Do you know that loner kid Jughead Jones? He…' she lowered her voice. 'Apparently he burned some kids fingers off.' Betty found herself shaking her head. Surely the girl was messing with her. But how could she not believe Veronica when she was pretty sure the girl was growing wings? 'Do you mean the Cinephile kid?' She spluttered. 'Ronnie, he's harmless.' But the girl laughed, an edge to it. She caught Veronica's expression wrinkle with pain, her lips curling. But the girl bit her lip and forced a smile.

'That's what I thought! But now he's a Serpent- Betty. Even weirder? He's the _leader_ of the Serpents.'

Betty frowned. No way. She knew Jughead Jones. Well, kind of. He had smiled at her once in History, and on June 15th, he had asked what date it was. She only remembered that day vividly because as soon as she had whispered it to him, her nose had started gushing blood and she had to spend nearly an hour in the nurse's office with a Kleenex pressed against her face.

'But he's…' Betty trailed off. She was about to say 'Uncool' but she didn't want to sound stupid. But Veronica nodded. 'Yeah, I know. He's a freak. And now he's the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs in school...who are dealing this "Jingle Jangle"

Betty had a million questions on her tongue. Most of them regarding either Jughead Jones, or Jingle Jangle. But instead of speaking, she let out a squeak when Veronica jumped up and tugged off the sweater she had given her. 'Oh god!' Veronica paled and tried to twist her head to see her back. 'It's happening again isn't it?'

Betty held her breath and forced herself to check the damage. Veronica was right. It _was_ happening again. Once again her sweater had been sliced up the back. Betty stared, as if in a trance. Veronica was shaking. 'What is it? What's wrong?' Her voice trembled.

Wings. Just like she had guessed. There were two growing wings sprouting from the girl's back. But it was funny. The wings weren't pearly white, like she would see on the films and TV shows. Instead, Veronica's wings were a beautiful golden brown, the feathers lightly tinted a scary scarlet. The wings were getting bigger, she realized, before snapping out of it. 'Ronnie,' her voice was choked at the back of her dry throat. 'You're either an Angel or a Faerie, I can't tell which one.' She spluttered out a hysterical laugh.

'What?!' Veronica hissed. Betty managed to compose herself. 'Angel.' She said, clearing her throat. She held her breath before exhaling, quickly. 'V, I know how you can fly. You have…' she struggled to get the words out, and Veronica became impatient. 'I have _what_?' She whimpered, before crying out. 'Ow!' She squeaked. Betty watched the wings slowly start to unfurl, and she swallowed. 'Veronica, you have to say calm, okay? Just…' Betty clawed at her ponytail, resisting the urge to scream herself. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Veronica let out a shrill scream and Betty realized the dark haired girl had seen the tatty feathery appendages growing from her back. 'Oh my god, what the fuck?!' Veronica cried. 'Are they-'

'Wings.' Betty whimpered. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

It was taking all of Betty's self control not to start screeching herself. 'Veronica, listen to me, okay? You need to imagine them shrinking.' She had no idea what she was saying, only spluttering out what sounded like the logical thing to do. Veronica nodded desperately and squeezed her eyes shut. But nothing happened. The wings had stopped growing, but they only stayed there, suspended. Betty blinked rapidly. _Dreaming. You're dreaming._ She told herself. But no, just like Aspen field, this was real. Veronica Lodge stood shaking in her bra and jeans, her expression wild. While two giant tatty golden wings sprouted from her back.

Betty hadn't realized she had her own back pressed to a desk. She hadn't even realized she had backed away from her friend. Veronica seemed to be frozen with fright. She kept twisting her head to see if they were still there, to see if she had imagined the whole thing, but yes, they were still very much real. Veronica's voice was a shrill squeak. 'How do I get rid of them?'

But the second the words left the girl's mouth as she now seemed to be less panicky, to Betty's surprise, the wings slowly started to shrink, before delicately enveloping themselves back into the slits in Veronica's back. Betty let go of the breath she had been holding, and Veronica collapsed onto her knees with a sigh of relief. The two of them stayed sitting in a comfortable silence before Veronica finally looked up. 'I have wings.' She said in a monotone dry voice. Betty found herself nodding. 'You have wings and you can fly.' She managed to get out.

The bell rang, startling the two of them and Betty helped the other girl up. Veronica looked to be in a trance, before she snapped out of it. Her eyes widened. 'I don't have a shirt!'

Shit. Betty thought. Veronica's wings had torn through both her and Betty's shirts. She looked the girl up and down. Veronica stood with her arms over her chest, shivering. Betty pulled out her phone. 'I'll call Archie.' She said. But before she could dial his number, the door flew open. Which startled the two of them because they had spent ten minutes barricading the damn thing with chairs and desks. Betty jumped back when the sturdy barricade of classroom desks were gently pushed aside- by an unknown force. Veronica let out a shriek and covered herself up. But it didn't stop a group of kids barging in. Betty lost her breath. It was The Serpents.

The kids who had sold Veronica Jingle Jangle. Betty narrowed her eyes.

She recognised a bunch of kids she would normally see in their respective cliques. The most surprising was Cheryl Blossom. Who _had_ been a River Vixen cheerleader with her and Veronica. But now she stood with a bright lipstick smile, her blood-red hair cascading down her back. She had swapped her Blue and Gold cheer-leading outfit for a tight black dress complimented by The South Side Serpent's' signature jacket.

Veronica let out a scoff. 'Cheryl?!' She hissed. The girl only smiled sweetly.

And before she knew it, Jughead Jones, the sweet kid who was a known Cinephile, stepped forward. Gone was his tattered denim jacket and overalls. In their place was a Serpent jacket bearing the entwined on the back. Jughead had his arms folded, a smirk curled on his lip. His dark hair was a mess, still sitting underneath that damn knitted beanie. But he somehow managed to pull it off. Betty took a slow step backwards and grabbed for Veronica's hand, yanking her back also. But the kids were already looking at Veronica, and more importantly; the twin slits in her back and the bloody feathers all over the floor. Betty managed to speak first, her voice weak. 'What the hell are you doing?' she started to grow more confident. 'You can't just-'

Though Jughead shut her up, automatically. 'Shut it it, blondie.' He growled. He was looking almost hungrily at her friend, and Betty swallowed the urge to yell at him again.

Veronica was silent next to her. Jughead Jones moved closer. His gaze glued to the dark haired girl. 'How are you doing, Veronica?' He asked, his eyes flashing with amusement. Betty felt her stomach twist. He knew. Veronica sent her a panicked glance before forcing a smile at the boy. At the snake, who looked ready to pounce. Betty couldn't find _any_ of the boy she used to know in Jughead's expression. The timid smile, sad-eyed look or occasional sarcastic eye-roll.

'I'm okay.' Veronica said stiffly. Her expression darkened. 'Why do you ask?'

'No reason.' Jughead said lightly. He cleared his throat. 'Just know, Veronica, that if anything _weird_ is happening to you. Anything out of the ordinary, you come and see us. Got it?'

Betty thought Veronica was going to laugh at him, but the girl only nodded slowly. Jughead shot her a shark grin. 'Cool.' He shot a smirk at Betty, before he started to back away. Veronica swore under her breath before letting out a sigh. 'Jughead, Wait!'

Jughead hesitated for a second, and Betty caught his grin.

Betty turned to stare at her friend. She already had the words "Don't" on her lips, before Veronica sent her apologetic eyes. 'I'll be fine!' The girl wrapped her arms around Betty, sniffling into her shoulder. 'They know what's happening to me, Betty. I have to know.'

Betty found her voice. 'Wait, No!' She whispered desperately. But Veronica was already running over to join Cheryl, who slung an arm over the girl's back like they were suddenly best friends. None of them seemed fazed that Veronica wasn't wearing a shirt.

Betty attempted to run after the group, but Jughead turned around with that same stupid smirk, blocking her way out. She let out a frustrated hiss. 'Move it!' But her voice was a shallow breath. He only raised his eyebrows before smiling lazily. 'Don't worry about your friend,' He said. 'We'll take care of her.'

Betty was speechless. But Jughead stayed for some reason. He lingered by the door, his dark eyes shining with glee. She realized how entertaining this must all be for him. Betty scowled at the boy. 'What did you do to her?' She demanded, after a moment of trying to regain her ability to speak. Though Jughead only shook his head with a smirk. 'We didn't _do_ anything to her.' He replied, coolly. But he had another bombshell.

'Say, Betty,' He murmured, fiddling with a straying curl of his dark hair hanging in his eyes. 'Not to worry you or anything. But have you seen Archie lately?'


	2. Chapter 2

_Flashback._

Archie Andrews was starting to regret taking Jingle Jangle. He'd only snorted it a few hours ago, and now his nostrils were burning, his eyes were watering and he could barely concentrate on anything. He'd only taken it to try and figure out what exactly Jingle Jangle was. Because his girlfriend could fly. Veronica Lodge was his own personal angel, and even if suddenly being able to fly was pretty damn cool, he had to know _how_. So he had bitten his tongue and tracked down Reggie Mantle, a known member of The Serpent's. He was a former team-mate of Archie's, until Jughead Jones had dragged him into his creepy-ass X-men club.

Reggie had been more than happy to supply him with it, chucking Archie a small baggie of what looked suspiciously like Cocaine. The Mantle boy was clearly on Jingle Jangle. Though Archie wasn't entirely sure what it had done to the boy. Reggie couldn't fly, like Veronica. But he _could_ catapult team-players halfway across the field at football practice with just a simple jerk of his head.

"Sniff it, Andrews." Reggie had told him with a smirk and Archie had ended up skipping afternoon classes and spending a long time staring at his reflection and trying to psyche himself up for it. His red hair was a straggly mess hanging over his eyes and his cheeks were pale, his freckles standing out. He was wearing his Letterman Jacket, and the bright colors made him wince.

If he actually took it, what would happen to him? Would he develop some freakish ability like Veronica? His phone buzzed on and off in his pocket and he didn't need to check it to know it was Betty. He couldn't tell her about this. He had known the girl since the two of them were little kids, paddling half naked in his garden. She would over-react if she knew Veronica's affliction was to do with drugs. After various mental arguments with himself, Archie had shakily poured out the strange powder on the edge of the basin and bent down, covering one nostril as he snorted a whole line of the stuff.

It had burned. Though of course it had. He was inhaling a foreign chemical into his body. Archie had waited for some kind of notion that it had worked, that the very fabric of his genes had been twisted and he'd been turned into some kind of lame superhero. Except there was nothing. He still looked the same. He didn't have glowing energy pulsing through his body and he definitely didn't _feel_ powerful. Just to check, he winded his fist back and smashed it into the mirror. "Fuck!" Though that had been a stupid idea. He'd ended up in the nurses office with a bandage around his hand under the judging gaze of Nurse Cramer.

 _"Mr Andrews, what did you do?"_ she had asked, tutting. He'd shrugged. "I punched the mirror in the boy's bathroom." He muttered, without thinking, and the woman had looked slightly horrified for a second, until he span out a lie about being pissed that he's lost a game. Though the nurse hadn't been convinced and offered to call his dad. While she had been fumbling around in the student files looking for his, Archie had made a quick getaway, insisting that he was fine, and he wasn't in need of professional help.

Archie hadn't felt different until his last class of the day. Now, he stood, feeling like his legs were going to giveaway, over Miss Simon's desk. The teacher was frowning down at his most recent essay, the one he was actually pretty proud of, and to his distaste, his essay had red pen scribbled all over it, corrections so large they were blocking his actual work. Archie scratched the back of his head. He was trembling. Though it wasn't because Miss Simon's had given him a mediocre C minus. She had told him to stay behind after class. Archie could normally deal with this kind of feedback. Though not this time. The teacher's words were hurting him physically. He felt every pang in his chest every-time she muttered. "Disappointing" with a sigh, clicking her pen.

Archie could feel sweat beading down his neck, sliding down his back. He kept having to blink rapidly to maintain his vision. Archie longed to grip the side of Miss Simon's desk for support, but he resisted against it. He cleared his throat and forced a smile when the teacher glanced up to frown at him. Though he really didn't feel good. Archie felt like he was going to faint.

"Archie, You're an intelligent boy," she murmured. Though she was still drawing bright red circles around his essay, and correcting each and every word. Archie couldn't help glaring at her. He clenched his fists by his sides. 'I just really wish you put the amount of passion you put into football, into your work." She sighed. Archie narrowed his eyes at her. He was seeing double. _Well shit._

"What's the matter with it?" He couldn't help grumbling. Normally, Archie was never vocal when he was being chastised by a teacher. But it must have been the drugs because he was silently simmering. He could feel his veins alive with energy trying to burst out of him. Archie bit back a groan when a thumping pain throbbed across the back of his skull.

The teacher shrugged. "Nothing's _wrong_ with it, Archie." she sighed. "It's just…mediocre." Miss Simon's lifted her gaze to send the boy a reassuring smile, though it fell flat when she noticed he was visibly shaking. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and his fists were clenched tightly. 'Are you okay, Mr Andrews?' She studied him through beady eyes. Miss Simon's was in her late twenties with short brown hair and a long nose he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from. It very much resembled a witch.

Archie nodded. 'Yeah, I'm good!' He lied. He most definitely wasn't _good._ Archie started to fabricate excuses in his mind to try and make a quick escape, since his entire body was heating up, sizzling, like he had a temperature. "You don't look very well, Archie." Miss Simon's stood up, abandoning his paper, her expression turning worrying. Before Archie could react, the woman was pressing her back-hand to his forehead, before jumping back, startled. 'Oh my goodness!" she squeaked. "Archie, you're boiling!"

Archie took a few steadying breaths. His eyes were starting to burn, and he blinked back tears. "I'm okay," he said softly, before losing his balance as his brain did a 360. The teacher looked horrified. 'I'll- I'll call an ambulance." She insisted, twisting around and grabbing her bag from behind her desk. "Mr Andrews, your forehead is almost too hot to touch!" she hissed as she searched for her phone. "Have you taken anything?" Archie didn't answer. His eyes were still burning. Excruciating pain made his head swim, and he staggered back when something zipped across his peripheral, and before he knew it, the edges of the teacher's desk were burnt and smouldered. Miss Simon's was too busy looking for her phone to realize. Archie managed to hold back a cry.

"I'm- I'm okay, really." He choked. "I think I just have a bug, Miss Simon's." Archie lifted his head to force a smile at the teacher, attempting to stop whatever the hell had just happened from happening again. But he was suddenly blinded by a dazzling light flashing in his vision. He stumbled, clawing at his eyes with a strangled cry before Miss Simon's let out a sharp squeak. There was a soft thud, like a body hitting the ground, and Archie could only stare helplessly as his eyes blazed a startling bright light. He tried to find his footing but tripped and stumbled as he fought to grab for his teacher, try and help her- _save her_.

And then it was gone. Flashing out of existence as quick as it had came. But it wasn't just the light evaporating, as if never there. Archie felt a piece of him drain away slowly, as if the drug stirring in his system was gradually picking him apart piece by piece.

Archie opened his eyes, and the light was gone. So was the pain, the agony zipping across his skull. Archie felt a cold sweat start to drip down the back of his neck as whatever had claimed him, held him in a metal vice for so long, suddenly let him go. He managed to stay upright but he was disoriented and steeled himself against the teacher's desk for support. After a moment of swallowing burning vomit at the back of his throat and trying to blink away the colorful spots invading his vision, Archie turned his attention to his teacher, who was uncharacteristically quiet. Even when she _did_ get along with him, she still lectured the boy.

'Miss Simon's?' He managed to whisper, his lips felt dry and cracked. His voice was a slight hysterical squeak.

But when he stared forwards at Miss Simon's, she was no longer standing. Instead, the woman was lying on her back. At first he couldn't understand why. Had she fainted? Archie squinted, trying to clear his vision. He glimpsed Miss Simon's' heels sticking up, attached to pale white legs, a torso, and- _oh._ Archie wasn't sure what was wrong with him. But what he was seeing didn't seem to be registering because he wasn't crying out in horror and stumbling backwards like a normal human being. Or like the boy he was this morning, before experimenting with Jingle Jangle.

Archie Andrews was different now. When he saw the cavernous hole in his teacher's chest, he didn't move. Only stared. It was funny. The woman almost looked like a doughnut if he squinted, and that was the first thought that came to his head. Though instead of sweet icing, there was only congealed blood still sizzling around the gaping wound exposing her slithery insides. Which didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. In fact, he was suddenly taken over with morbid curiosity. He wanted to get closer and a small part of him- the sane part- was screaming at him stop.

It didn't hit him for a second that he had caused it. But after a moment of staring at the deep hole cutting through Miss Simon's' pale dress as well as layers and layers of flesh, blood and bone- he understood. Archie had burned a hole through his teacher. With his eyes. Like he really was some kind of superhero. Or, he guessed, in this circumstance; super villain.

Archie didn't cry. His eyes were still hurting. He felt- strange. Like any traces of empathy, of sympathy and care for the poor woman had diminished. His first thought was to ring Betty or Veronica. Though he wasn't sure that conversation would go well.

 _"Hey guys, I burned a hole through my teacher's chest and she looks pretty dead to me. Also, I took Jingle Jangle and I think it's given me laser eyes."_

He was pretty sure killing his teacher _and_ taking drugs was on Betty Cooper's 'No-no' list.

Archie shivered. Though he was wasn't cold. He was boiling. Archie stood for a long moment, just staring at Miss Simon's. At her face. She had died with her eyes open in shock, her lips still parted slightly, ready to scream louder. But she never had the chance.

Archie jumped at the sound of the door opening, and he twisted around, panic settling in his chest- finally. Though it wasn't another teacher or student. It was a sea of black jackets with that same entwined snake on the back. Archie spotted Reggie Mantle among them and swallowed a yell. Reggie had been the one to give him Jangle Jangle. This was a set up.

The South-side Serpents lead by his former child hood best friend Jughead Jones. The boy who had transformed from a loner kid who maybe said something once a month, to _this_. Archie had never felt anything for Jughead. It had always been a platonic friendship, and when they drifted apart- they just tolerated each-other. Maybe exchanging awkward greetings now and then. Though now, Jughead sent shivers tingling down Archie's spine. His chest ached, and his stomach flittered. But this was for Jughead Jones! He wanted to yell at himself, but he couldn't tear his gaze from the boy. His chocolate brown hair was still nestled under that damn knitted beanie Archie had teased him for having when they were little. Jughead's Green eyes looked- different somehow. There was something lingering there in his iris, though Archie couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. Jughead's lips were curved into a playful smirk and his arms were folded. Archie spotted Cheryl Blossom among them and sent her a frown. But she only grinned back, her gaze playful. She was excited. Archie cleared his throat and looked back to the teacher who was- yep, she was still very dead.

"Jughead?" Archie managed. "What the- what the hell are you doing here?"

Though the dark haired boy ignored him, only looking straight at his dead teacher. 'Nice." Jughead moved forward, his gaze studying the impossible hole in Miss Simon's chest, before it flickered to Archie. "Let me guess. Laser Eyes?"

Archie stiffened and he opened his mouth, but Jughead got there first. "Yes, Archie. I know that you barbecued your English teacher." he grinned when Archie scowled. "But I'll get to that." Jughead cleared his throat and turned to the gang of kids. "Sabrina." He turned to a girl who stepped forward. She had pale skin and short silver-white hair tied in a red ribbon. Sabrina too sported a Serpent jacket over a red sweater and pleated skirt. The girl grinned excitedly, rubbing her hands together. "Want me to fix her?" Her voice was like wind-chimes. Dreamy. Soft. Archie felt her voice sink into his panicking mind, soothing him.

Jugehead nodded, his lip curling. "Fix my old friend's mistake." He murmured, winking at Archie. Who only glared back. "Jughead, whatever sick game you're trying to play. I'm not playing along." He growled.

Though Jughead only shushed him. "Just watch!" He insisted, before smiling at Sabrina. "Show him what you can do, Sabrina."

The girl's expression brightened and she nodded, hurrying to the fallen teacher. Archie watched as Sabrina knelt next to Miss Simon's and lay her palm over the gaping wound in the woman's chest. Archie couldn't help letting out a hysterical laugh. "What the hell are you doing? She's dead!" He turned to Jughead, his eyes wild. Jughead only ignored him.

But Archie wasn't letting this go. He tried to lunge forwards and pull the girl away from the body. "Look- what we need to be doing is ringing an ambulance!" He insisted, his voice quivering. "I- I- don't think she could be any _more_ dead-" His words were suddenly muffled when Jughead rolled his eyes in irritation and slammed his hand over the red-head's mouth. "Stop bleating."

"Bleating?!" Archie tore away from the boy's grasp, stumbling away. "You're crazy!" he yelled, before making a break for the door. Though Cheryl Blossom grabbed him and turned hm back around, shoving him back into Jughead's awaiting arms. "Dude, get off me!" Archie struggled, but Jughead kept a tight grip. "Arch, all I'm asking you to do is watch Sabrina's little trick.

In the end, Archie did. He watched Sabrina, one of The Serpent's squeeze her eyes shut, pressing pressure onto the teacher's chest. At first, nothing happened. Archie rolled his eyes. "What is this?!" He demanded, struggling again. "Some kind of sick ritual?"

Jughead chuckled, tightening his grip around Archie's biceps. "You just turned your teacher into a human kebab, Archie. You're no better than us."

Archie was ready to argue. But the words clogged in his throat when he noticed _something_ happening to Miss Simon's chest. At first he thought he was imagining it. But he was seeing it clear as day. It looked like the hole in the teacher's chest was slowly knitting itself back together, bits of bone and muscle regenerating quickly, forming layer after layer of what Archie had obliterated. Archie relaxed in Jughead's arms, and eventually, the dark haired boy let him go. "Okay first of all, before you say anything-" Though this time Archie was interrupting Jughead. "She's healing her." He said softly, his voice choked. "Oh my god, she's really healing her."

"She'll be okay." Sabrina murmured, lifting her hand. There was a thick layer of pink flesh spreading out across the woman's chest. The blonde haired girl smirked at Archie. "Try not to lose control next time, dude." She murmured, before standing up. "Cheryl, can you give me a hand?" The girl asked, scooping the teacher into her arms. Cheryl nodded, rushing forwards and helping. The two girls carried the teacher away. Cheryl winked at him in passing, and Archie avoided her eyes.

Archie finally tore his gaze from Sabrina and Cheryl, to Jughead. He narrowed his eyes. But Jughead only grinned at him, cocking his head. "Have you been feeling _weird_ today, Archie?"

Archie wasn't sure how to answer that. "What do you _think_?" He hissed back. Though Jughead only giggled. Which he found kind of- cute? Archie shook his head of the thought. No, that was crazy. Before he could begin to ask questions, Jughead smiled brightly at him. He really wasn't used to Jughead smiling this much. The boy seemed to have changed significantly, it was almost scaring him. The warm smile he was used to- it was gone. "Okay, Archie. Bottom line; We have your girlfriend."

Archie couldn't help scoffing out a laugh. Though his chest tightened, knowing about the girl's strange ability. Like his own. Did that mean Jughead was connected to kids having powers?

"You _have_ her?" He demanded. "What are you talking about?"

jughead sighed and moved in front of him. Archie realized the boy was uncomfortably close, he could practically feel Jughead's breath tickling his cheeks. "Archie, you're a smart guy. Right?" He murmured softly, and Archie only frowned back at him. "You know what's happening to me?" He whispered. Jughead nodded. "And what happened to Veronica," he said smoothly. "Because both of you took Jingle Jangle."

Archie glared. "You gave my girlfriend life altering drugs?!"

Jughead's lips curved into a smile, his eyes glinting. Archie resisted the urge to take another step back. "I gave you _both_ mind-altering drugs so I could get my best friend back." Jughead shrugged, grinning a little. "Maybe I have a diabolical plan to drag you and Miss Socialite into to my gang, so Betty Cooper follows." He smirked when Archie's lips twisted in disgust.

"Leave Betty out of this." Archie grumbled. Though Jughead shrugged. "She'll come to her senses once she knows not only her bestie Veronica Lodge is a Serpent, but also her childhood friend."

Archie glared at him a while longer, half-hoping his new laser eyes would carve the smile right off of Jughead's face.

The boy gestured to his gang. One of them chucked him a bound leather jacket. Archie could just about glimpse the dark Green snake printed on the back. This time he did take a step back when Jughead smiled expectantly at him. "Strip it off, Andrews."

Archie couldn't help blushing, and he could tell Jughead loved it. The boy only got closer until they were practically touching noses and Archie let out a soft breath. "What?!"

Jughead raised his eyebrows. "Your Letterman jacket, Arch," he said. softly. "Any kid who comes into contact with Jingle Jangle automatically becomes a Serpent."

It was Archie's turn to laugh. "You're kidding right?"

Jughead shrugged. "I dunno, am I?" He muttered. "Veronica? Can you come here a second?" Archie stiffened.

"Dude, there's no way I'm joining-" He started to say, but then Veronica Lodge was appearing in the doorway. She didn't say anything, though, really, she didn't need to. The girl wasn't wearing a shirt, her breasts were exposed. Though nobody batted an eyelid as if it was completely normal. The only thing she wore was a Serpent jacket and her usual dark skirt. Though when she grew closer, Archie could see something spreading from her back. Golden brown feathers furled into what looked like- _wings_. Veronica Lodge could fly, he had somehow registered that. But Veronica Lodge having _wings?!_

"Archie, it's rude to stare." She murmured. There was something wrong with her voice. It was dreamy, like Sabrina's, as if she was in a trance. Archie gritted his teeth. "What the hell did you-"

Jughead rolled his eyes, and Archie softened his voice to a low growl.

"If I join The Serpent's," he stared at the floor as he said it, as if ashamed. "You'll tell me what the fuck you did to me and Veronica."

"Done." Jughead smiled. But Archie wasn't finished. He lifted his head, brown eyes blazing. "And you'll stay the hell away from Betty."

The dark haired boy pursed his lips, his eyes glittering. "Nah, I can't promise you that, Arch." He said softly. "After all, weren't we always The Three Musketeers? It was always me, you and Betty." He said. "It would be awfully rude to leave her out of this."

Archie scoffed. "You barely spoke to her. Dude, she doesn't even know you exist!"

Jughead's eyes darkened again, and Archie felt the breath catch in his throat. The boy seemed to also have an aura, a dark shadow looming over him, consuming him in darkness. "Shut it, Archie. Before I do something I regret."

Archie glared at him for a moment longer, before straightening up. He was sick of this. He'd had his fill of trauma for one day. "Have fun in your creepy gang, Jug." He muttered, shoving the boy backwards. "God, you turned into such a freak."

Before he could make a break for it again, Jughead was grabbing him and pulling him close. Archie started to fight back, but Jughead's eyes were suddenly blazing orange, his iris's rings of fire. "You'll be joining The Serpent's, won't you Archie?" He said softly. Dangerously. Archie wanted to yell and batter his fists against the boy, but his limbs suddenly felt heavy, his eyes flickering slightly as he stared deeply into Jughead's Jones' eyes. His best friend from Kindergarten. He saw himself and Jughead when they were little, rising their bikes, Archie flipping over his handlebars and Jughead carrying him back home, his facial expression twisted with fright. Then there was him, Jughead and a tiny blonde girl with flowers in her hair rolling down hills, racing to get that last cookie.

Archie and Jughead has always been so close before their friendship crumbled. But the boy wanted it back.

He wanted _them_ back. It was kind of sad, Archie thought. Jughead was lonely.

The deeper Archie stared, watching shimmers of orange glinting in Jughead's pupil's, the less he struggled. The boy's voice bounced around in his skull and suddenly seemed to take over every thought process. _You'll be joining The Serpent's now, won't you Archie?_

His last logical thought was that his ex best friend wasn't just recruiting super-powered teens to join his gang, he was- he was…

Archie lost that train of thought and found himself nodding, dumbly. _Yes. Yes he was. He was joining The Serpents._ There was a small voice in the back of his head, pushing the thought deeper and deeper until he simply let it envelope him and joining The Serpent's suddenly didn't seem so bad.

Jughead let go of the red-head and the fire dispersed from his eyes. "So, what do you say, Andrews?" He offered the jacket, and Archie stared down at it, before a small smile appeared on his lips that he was sure wasn't his. Before he could hesitate he was pulling off his beloved Letterman Jacket and Jughead grinned widely. "That's it, Arch. How good does it feel to get rid of it?"

"It feels great." Archie said softly. Dreamily. He threw on The Serpent jacket and smoothed it down, fitting it around his blue shirt. Jughead looked impressed. "Damn Andrews,' he smirked at the boy. Archie actually did suit the jacket. the contrast of the dark leather and his bright red hair and pale face made him look like he'd just stepped out of Grease.

"Yes." Archie said softly. "Yes, I suit it."

"Good." Jughead murmured, before slinging an arm around the red-head. "Now, Archie, what did you say about Betty Cooper? Sorry, I didn't catch it."

Archie frowned, his eyebrows furrowing, before he smiled widely. "I say go for it, Dude."

Jughead smirked, before pulling out a baggie of white powder out of his jeans pocket. He smiled at it. He had Veronica and Archie. The raven haired girl came to stand by him, her facial expression frozen into a permanent dazed smile. He pulled Archie and Veronica both close to him, and they stumbled, like the very puppets they were. The angel and the human laser beam. It was great having his best friend back, even if it was in _this_ state. But Betty Cooper's friends were only stepping stones to the real thing. Soon he'd have Betty, and she'd shine with the powers he'd give her. He waved the Jingle Jangle in front of Archie's face teasingly.

The boy didn't blink, and Jughead's smile grew. "That's what I thought."


	3. Chapter 3

"Wait, so...backtrack," Kevin Keller cleared his throat and leaned across his untouched lunch, his eyebrows raised. But he didn't look skeptical. Betty wondered if the boy had already seen a Serpent kid with their freakish abilities. Kids were already starting to get careless. Just this morning a girl in Betty's class had yawned so hard she'd disappeared into thin air. When the girl's textbook started floating around though, it became clear she had developed invisibility. Some kids freaked out, but others ignored her. Including the teacher. Betty was starting to wonder if The Serpents had the staff under some kind of spell.

"Veronica is one of them now?" Kevin hissed, lowering his voice. His words made Betty shiver. And she finally had to accept it. Veronica Lodge had become a Serpent. The cafeteria was teeming with kids, and there was no sign of the assholes who had practically kidnapped her best friend. She was still silently seething. Jughead Jones' last words were still fresh in her mind.

 _ _Have you seen Archie lately?__ He had asked her with a smug smirk. Why bring up Archie? The two of them hadn't spoken properly in years. With the red-head and the Cinephile choosing to go different ways.

But even when Betty had tried to ignore his question, she couldn't stop thinking about it. If Jughead's prime mission was to get to both Veronica __and__ Archie- Why? Why did Jughead Jones suddenly want to ruin her life?

Betty only nodded her head. She couldn't eat her lunch. Her stomach had been twisting and turning all morning. She scooped up cold mashed potato half-heartedly with her spoon and dropped it back onto her plate with a plop! She set her spoon down and sighed. Kevin already knew about Veronica's ability to fly. Though it wasn't exactly hard to believe that she had suddenly sprouted wings when most of the kid's in Riverdale High were suddenly inexplicably changing and joining The Serpents.

"It's like Riverdale High has turned into some kind of X Men fever dream." Kevin muttered. He sat opposite Betty, his brown hair a mess as usual. "And not even the good kind."

Kevin had complained his on/off boyfriend Moose Mason had gone to the dark-side after suddenly being able to freeze water. "I didn't know what to say," Kevin had told her a few days ago. Before Veronica took Jingle Jangle. Before the dark haired girl sprouted wings and expanded Betty's belief in- well, anything fiction. "Moose had iced his water bottle and I was petrified, Betty. I couldn't move. I guess you could say I freaked out?" Kevin had laughed. Before his face had fallen. "That was when they came." He muttered. "Some boys from the football team, Moose's friends. They dragged him off before I could try and understand what was happening." Betty hadn't thought much of it. After all, this was before Aspen Field. This was before picking bloody feathers out of Veronica's back. Kevin hadn't finished the story. Only bitterly saying he hadn't spoken to Moose in days. It was obvious. Moose had taken Jingle Jangle, obtained an insane ability like Veronica, and joined The Serpents.

"You're telling me the exact same thing happened?" Kevin murmured. He had only taken a few bites of his sandwich. As soon as Betty had brought up Veronica and The Serpents, not to mention Archie's disappearance- both of them had lost their appetite. "Yeah." Betty murmured softly, looking down at the table. She could still picture Veronica running off with the sea of black jackets. Though there had been a look in her eye that had been bugging Betty. Blank. Nothing there. No light. One minute Veronica had been laughing at the idea of joining Jughead, and next? She had been running after him, still bare-chested. Betty had known Veronica Lodge for nearly three years now, since The Lodge's moved to Riverdale in the fifth grade. Betty knew the girl well, and Veronica Lodge wouldn't just prance away with a bunch of kids she barely knew. Especially, _ _especially__ when she was practically half naked.

Betty had told Kevin everything. About the girl's angel-like wings, how beautiful they had looked, making her look like some kind of goddess. Her golden skin and long dark hair brushing against her shoulders. She had been almost envious of the girl.

"Maybe he had her under some kind of spell?" Kevin suggested, perking up a little. "Hey, did you hear what happened with Midge Klump?"

Betty's heart sank. __Another River Vixen cheerleader in Jughead Jones' grasp.__ She'd caught sight of the girl with Cheryl yesterday.

"What about her?" she murmured, trying not to sound snippy. She kept looking up, her gaze trailing to the door hopefully to see if Archie was going to walk in, being his usual idiotic self and clumsily bumping into someone. He'd come over, apologize for ignoring her calls, before digging hungrily into his lunch like normal. Except her redheaded friend was nowhere to be seen. Betty ducked her head.

 _ _Where the hell was he?__

Kevin surveyed his PB&J before daintily pulling out a long dark hair. "Nice." He rolled his eyes, setting it down again, before his gaze settled on Betty.

"Apparently she __pressurized__ ," Kevin quoted the air with two fingers. "Miss Mullins into giving her an A in Psych class."

Betty frowned. "So?" she raised her eyebrows at Kevin. Any kid could do that. Though Kevin shook his head, his lip curling. "No, you don't get it. Miss Mullin's is as strict as teachers can get. Midge just stood up, demanded an A- and __bam__. Miss Mullin's gave in just like that." He snapped his fingers for effect.

Betty's interest was peaked. She straightened in her chair. "Did the teacher have a blank look in her eye, like.." Betty trailed off, trying to re-imagine what happened yesterday. Veronica's dreamy smile as she insisted everything was okay before happily going off with Jughead.

"Like she was being hypnotized?" Kevin leaned further forwards, his eyes darkening. "Exactly like it. Miss Mullin's had this weird look on her face, like-"

'Like she was in a dream." Betty murmured, and Kevin nodded grimly. "That's what happened with Ronnie?" Betty dipped her head in acknowledgement and Kevin swore quietly.

Betty was getting progressively more worried about Archie. Kevin sat back in his chair with a sigh. "This is all messed up," He muttered. "Kids getting super powers from drugs." He scoffed a little, before he caught Betty's eye. "You think Jughead's gone after Archie too?"

Betty nodded again. Kevin shrugged. "He's got most of the football team." He muttered. "Wouldn't be surprised if Archie was next."

She sent him a look, and he smirked. "Sorry. Is it too much for me to ask for Archie Andrews in __that__ jacket? I mean have you __seen__ Jughead Jones in it?" The boy puffed out his cheeks and mimed fanning himself. Betty rolled her eyes. She wanted to tell Kevin that she didn't find Jughead the __least__ bit attractive. Especially when the asshole was twisting Riverdale High into fucking Smallville.

She wasn't in the mood for proper speech. She missed her friends. Normally it was the four of them sat at the table. She would be working on something for the Blue and Gold, Archie and Veronica would be all over each-other and Kevin would be making snide jokes and sneaking her french fries. It had always been the four of them. They belonged to different cliques. Betty in the Journalism club, Veronica at the Vixen table, Archie with the guys, and Kevin? Well. Kevin was his own person. But somehow, they fit together.

Though today it was just her and Kevin. Betty felt like her worry for her friends livelihood was starting to take its toll on her. It had only been one day, and yet she hadn't bothered with her usual ponytail, leaving her blonde straggly hair for the elements to play with. She didn't care for makeup, and had settled for drab jeans and t-shirt. She definitely didn't look like herself. Kids on the hallways did a double-take when they spotted her. Who knows. Maybe they'd start thinking that __she__ was on Jingle Jangle.

Archie hadn't returned any of her texts and calls since yesterday, when Veronica happily joined a supernatural drug-dealing gang. What made it worse was that she had been round to the Andrews house to walk to school like normal with Archie. Like they had done since they were little. But there was no sign of him, and Fred had already set off early to work.

Betty shrugged and pushed away her plate. She needed to change the subject. She looked up at Kevin, and was about to ask something generic- like how his morning was. Anything that wasn't The Serpents and Jingle Jangle. But Kevin was halfway through chugging his coke. He choked on it, spluttering, before setting it down and wiping his mouth. "Holy Twilight." He said, his gaze set on something behind her. Betty frowned at the boy, but he was fixated on whatever had made him choke on his Coke. Betty twisted in her chair and followed his gaze, and her stomach dropped. Her throat drying up. The Serpents had entered the lunchroom, and Kevin was right. She felt like she was staring at a scene ripped from the movie. Except they weren't good looking and brooding vampires. It was a bunch of kids in black leather jackets and matching dead-eyed expressions lead by Jughead Fucking Jones. Betty could feel her fingernails digging crescent moons in the flesh of her palms. There was nothing jaw-dropping to attract anyone else. Most of the lunchroom ignored them. But not her. Not Kevin. Because she spotted Veronica at Jughead's side. She wore one of them damn jackets, and Betty noticed there were twin slits in the material on her back.

Betty swallowed and Kevin let out a breath. "Wait, are those for her wings?"

 _ _It's like they weren't even trying anymore.__ Betty had to admit it. Veronica looked drop-dead beautiful. Her dark hair was lush, cascading down her chest. She no longer looked like she was stuck in some kind of dreamy trance. Her expression was alive, practically glowing. She was laughing at something loudly, arm in arm with Cheryl Blossom. Betty didn't move. She was frozen to her seat, part of her wanting to leap up rush over, grabbing her friend and shaking her violently. Kevin hissed out a breath. "I've found Archie." He muttered. If Kevin was a cartoon, his eyes would surely have popped out of his head.

Though Betty was only half listening, because she too had found him. Archie Andrews, captain of The Bulldogs who had repeatedly made fun of the Serpents for being so-called __edgy__ and __dark__. Yet there he was, standing so close to Jughead that it almost looked like they were holding hands. Betty's chest clenched, though of course she couldn't control her emotions. Even if she hated- __hated__ what she was seeing, she couldn't help being the slightest bit turned on. Kevin was right for one. Archie did suit a Serpent jacket. He wore it like a label, tugging on it every few seconds as he tipped his head back, his dark-red hair a tousled mess. He was laughing at something Jughead was saying and the boy to Betty's confusion, was wearing ray-bans. In October. She hadn't seen the sun in three straight days and Archie Andrews was wearing sunglasses like it was the middle of Summer.

Betty stared as the group of kids sat down at a table, and just when she didn't think it could get any worse, Jughead Jones lifted his head of chocolate brown hair, strands dancing in his eyes from talking animatedly with Archie and Veronica and winked at her. Betty's heart sped up, and shivers ran down her spine. He __knew__ she was staring and he was loving it. She scowled back, and he only shrugged, his gaze trained on her. The other Serpents seemed to all be alive with movement and laughter as they chatted and dug into their lunches, but Jughead only stared at her, as if silently challenging her. Betty glared back and his smile only grew.

"Betty?" Kevin snapped her out of it, and she turned to the boy who was frowning at her. "Dude, you've gone bright red." His gaze flickered to The Serpents table and he sighed. Though there was only white noise in her ears. The only thing she could think about was that Jughead Jones had successfully taken her friends from her. Neither Archie nor Veronica even glanced her way. It stung. No, it fucking __hurt__. She felt physical pain in her chest. Jughead had gotten to Archie too, and he'd joined The Serpents.

"Betty, you know you're not the confrontational type-"

Kevin trailed off as he watched Veronica plonk herself into Cheryl Blossom's lap, practically straddling the redhead. Archie was sitting __way__ too close to Jughead, his head practically on the dark haired boy's shoulder as he grinned wildly, his brown eyes hidden by sunglasses he didn't even need. Kevin snorted. "No, you're right. There's something seriously wrong."

Betty felt herself standing up, and couldn't seem to control herself She was striding over before she knew it. Getting further from Kevin, who was yelling, "I was joking!" over and over again. "Betty!" He yelled. Though Kevin's voice faded out, and all Betty heard as she neared The Serpents table, was their fake laughter. They sat around a large table, with Jughead, Archie and Veronica practically glued together. Betty kept her fists clenched and marched over to Veronica, who was chatting with Cheryl. Betty couldn't seem to tear her gaze from the slits in the girl's jacket. Where her wings could sprout at any moment. Betty stumbled, trying to ignore Jughead's gaze, which she was sure was burning into her back. "Ronnie." She forced a smile, and when the dark haired girl paused and turned to her, eyes darkening, lips twisting into a frown, Betty felt sick. Veronica stared at her and cocked her head. Cheryl only grinned widely. Betty ignored the red-head. She fumbled with her hands, twisting and pulling her fingers nervously as she confronted the girl. "You- you didn't return my calls." She said lamely, her voice quivering. Veronica blinked at her for a while longer as if the girl didn't recognize Betty. Before she turned back to Cheryl, and continued her obnoxious conversation.

"Veronica, what the hell is wrong with you?!" She whispered. But the girl ignored her.

Betty felt humiliated. Though pain and confusion slowly turned to anger and irritation. She turned to Archie and his __fucking Ray-bans__. "Archie." She said, and when he didn't reply, she lost her patience. "Archie!" Betty hissed loudly, and the red-head finally broke away from his __riveting__ conversation with the head Serpent. He turned to her, and his face fell.

"Betty?" He started to take off his glasses, but Jughead caught his arm quick as a flash. "I don't think that's a good idea, Arch." Jughead murmured, and to Betty's shock, Archie nodded and smiled. "What's up Betty?" He grinned at her, and Betty was ready to tear off his head. She was ready to tear all of their heads off. Except when she started talking, she sounded like a pathetic little girl. She tried to blink away the tears, but it was impossible. "What happened?" She managed to choke, out. "Archie, are you on drugs?"

Understatement of the century.

Archie's lip curled into a smirk. "You could say that."

Betty lowered her voice, clenching her fists tighter. "Did you take Jingle Jangle?" __What a stupid name for a street drug.__ She thought bitterly.

Archie didn't hesitate. "Yeah, I took it." He said, his tone going cold. He peered at her through tinted lenses, and it hit her. If Archie had taken Jingle Jangle- had he developed powers too? Like Veronica? Is that why he was wearing glasses?

Betty opened her mouth to ask him straight out, though he got there first. "What's the best way to say this?" He murmured, cocking his head as if in deep thought. Before Betty could try and say anything, he was slipping off his Ray-bans, and was glaring at her, his brown eyes looked- different. There was something lingering in his iris. But the boy blinked, and whatever had been flickering in his gaze was gone. Archie smiled at her, but his eyes were cold. "Betty." He said softly, with a sigh. "Kindly fuck off please."

Jughead snorted loudly, and Betty tried hard not to burst out crying right there and then. She expected Archie to grin at her, his eyes going playful and __him__ again. Archie had never sworn at her. Even if it was a joke. He had always been a sweetheart, and here he was- telling her to fuck off. "What?" she whimpered. "Archie, what did- what did they do to you?" Though he completely ignored her, turning away and joining in the conversation with the other Serpents. He didn't look back.

"Sorry about Archie." Betty blinked back tears and stared at Jughead, who was grinning at her. "God, he has no manners does he?" Jughead laughed, and Betty choked back a sob. "What did you do to them?" She asked softly. Dangerously. Jughead adapted an innocent look on his face. "Do what?" he asked, and Betty took a deep breath and mentally counted to ten. When she was sure she wasn't going to grab both Archie and Veronica and drag them away, she instead grabbed Jughead Jones by the scruff of his jacket and yanked him up. Though he didn't fight back, and none of his Serpent friends looked back as Betty dragged him roughly away from them, across the cafeteria and out onto the hallway. Once it was quiet, Betty let go of him and he raised his eyebrows before fixing the collar of his shirt. "Foreplay?" He grinned teasingly. "I like it, Cooper! So, where are we going?" He rubbed his hands together. "The closest? The classroom?" He winked at her, and she slapped him. She didn't hesitate, whipping her hand and grazing his cheeks. She thought he was going to get angry, maybe hit her back. After all, he __was__ a drug dealer.

Though Jughead recovered quickly. His cheek bloomed scarlet but he wasn't even fazed.

"Oh, so you like pain?" He smirked, and Betty let out a cry of frustration. "What the __hell__ is wrong with you?!" she finally spat.

Jughead shrugged and opened his mouth, holding up his fingers to pinpoint the __many__ things wrong with him, though she shook her head, very aware that she had tears trailing down her cheeks. "What did you do to them?"

The boy frowned, cocking his head. "Archie and Veronica?" His smile grew. "I did nothing, Cooper. Jingle Jangle on the other hand-"

Betty couldn't help spluttering out a laugh. "Has messed you up?!" she cried. "Never mind Veronica and Archie, what the hell did it do to __you?__ she hissed, prodding him in the chest. She lost her breath when the boy lifted his gaze to glare at her, his dark eyes looked almost- like they were glowing. She swore there were smudges of orange dancing around his iris. Betty swallowed and took a subtle step backwards. But still held her ground. Jughead blinked slowly, as if he knew there was something in his eyes he didn't want her to see. "Betty," he murmured softly. She caught traces of the kid she knew before. The Jughead Jones who had cast her sarcastic smirks in class when someone was taking forever to read out a passage in a textbook. "Do you really want to know what happened to me?" His eyebrow quirked. He was loving this and she hated him for it. "And to your friends?"

Betty nodded impatiently. "Tell me." she said coldly. Though Jughead only shook his head, his lip curling into a smirk. He pulled a small baggie out of his jeans pocket and after realizing what it was, Betty batted it away with a snarl of disgust.

"I'd rather rot than take that." She growled. "Now tell me what the hell you've done to my friends, or I'll-" She trailed off, and Jughead's eyes lit up. "You'll __what__?" He smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Tell your mommy and daddy?"

Betty felt pathetic tears streaking down her cheeks once again.

'Betty, it's simple." Jughead smiled sweetly, and she resisted the urge to slap him again. "You want to know what happened to Archie and Veronica?" He waved the bag of Jingle Jangle teasingly. "This is your ticket."

Betty glared at the bag. The drug resembled Cocaine, and her stomach jumped into her throat at the idea that her two best friends had carelessly eaten it? Snorted it? Into their systems. Jughead chuckled as if he'd read her mind. "You inhale it, Betty." He murmured, and when she looked at him in disgust, his stupid smile grew. "You don't want to know how I figured that out."

So- what? Was this home made? Did Jughead make Jingle Jangle himself? Betty continued to glower at the white powder sitting at the bottom of the bag. She wasn't sure why, but she felt weirdly drawn to it. Like if she just reached out and took it, all her problems would be solved. Archie and Veronica wouldn't hate her anymore because she would be one of them. Though she shook away that thought quickly. __What was she thinking?!__ Betty refused to make eye contact with the boy. "I don't take drugs." She grumbled. Jughead shook his head. "Dude, don't see it as a drug," he murmured, getting closer to her. His breath was soft, and when she risked looking into his eyes, she once again saw the old Jughead. "See it as a new life."

Betty stubbornly folded her arms. "I like my life how it is." She grumbled, her gaze was steely. "Now are you going to help me by telling me what the hell you did to my friends or not?"

Jughead pretended to be in deep concentration before he smirked. "Not." He said in a sing-song voice. ""Unless you take the JJ, and in that case. I'll tell you everything," he grinned wildly. "I'll even tell you how I came into possession of this miracle of life."

Betty glared at him. She'd had enough. "It's not a miracle of life, it's a drug. Plain and simple." she growled. "Now I don't know what messed up supernatural spell you have Archie and Veronica under, but I'm not falling for it." Then she couldn't help it. "So you screwed up their DNA, turning them into Marvel dropouts and what? You're promising to look after them?"

Jughead shrugged. "Something like that."

Betty narrowed her eyes at him, twisting her lips into a snarl. "I'm going to find out what you did." she muttered. "If it kills me." Jughead frowned at her, before he smiled sweetly and reached out, ruffling her hair. "You do that, Nancy Drew." He giggled.

Betty shrugged the boy off with a hiss, and Jughead reached into his pocket and pulled out a toothpick, sticking it between his teeth. "Just know, Cooper, that the __only__ way you're going to get your friends back, is giving in to the JJ." He smiled, and Betty was sure she was going to hit him. She was going to hit __something__. But his words still settled in her mind and made a sick kind of sense. If she gave in to peer pressure and took the drug, she'd get her friends back. Betty shook her head. "Never in a million years."

Though somewhere, deep in her consciousness, she was considering it. Jughead gave her a long look, before the cafeteria doors flew open, making them both jump.

"What's going on here?" Kevin appeared looking flustered, though Betty's gut twisted when she realized Archie and Veronica were standing behind him. Archie was still wearing his Ray-bans, and his lips twisted with disgust when he caught her eye.

Kevin let out a breath. "Betty, thank god!" He rolled his eyes. "These __two__ ," he emphasized 'two' through an annoyed hiss, gesturing to Veronica and Archie. Ronnie planted her hands on her hips, smiling at Betty sweetly. "Betty." She giggled. Though before the girl could continue, Kevin continued; "These drugged up wacko's insisted that they accompany me to The Snake Prince himself."

Kevin stumbled forwards when Archie scoffed, shoving him. "Move it, Kev." Veronica giggled softly and Betty forced herself to ignore the kids who were supposed to be her friends. But were acting like literal villains.

"Betty, are you okay?" Kevin's eyes were wide with worry when he straightened up. Betty nodded shakily. Though Jughead was smirking at Kevin. "Snake Prince." The boy commented. "I like it." Then he held up the baggie of drugs. "What about you, Keller? Fancy some JJ?" Jughead shook the bag teasingly and Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'm good, Jones."

Jughead grinned. "Don't be a pussy, Keller." He advanced towards Kevin, and the boy shrunk back, grimacing. Though Betty swore she noticed a slight glint in the boy's eyes. Like Kevin was considering.

Betty finally found her voice. "Come on Kev." she murmured. When Kevin didn't move, she grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him away from Jughead. "You know where I am if you change your mind, Cooper." Jughead said, before walking off. Archie and Veronica followed him, their footsteps in sync.

When Betty was sure they were gone, she let out a breath and stopped abruptly. Kevin swore under his breath. "What the hell was all that about?" he hissed. Before she could answer, Kevin's eyes widened. "Oh god. Did he give you Jingle Jangle?"

Betty's heart was hammering through her chest. "He tried to." She said softly. She found herself gazing off down the corridor almost longingly, and Kevin stepped in front of her. "Betty. Whatever it is you're thinking. It's a bad idea."

Betty didn't answer, and Kevin hissed out a breath. "Look, if you need answers, let me take the drug. I'll be your eyes and ears," he laughed nervously. "So what if I get some crazy ability? Betty, it won't change me."

Betty kept walking. Wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. "You're not taking it." She muttered coldly.

She stopped walking and faced him, giving him her best reassuring smile. "I'm not going to do anything stupid, Kev." She murmured. __Lies.__ She walked faster. Kevin followed her. "Betty, Promise me." He hissed, grabbing hold of her shoulders and spinning her around to face him. Kevin's gaze bored into hers, his eyebrows furrowed with worry. He looked so desperate, so scared for her. Betty's heart splintered for the boy. She was about to lie to one of her best friends. But it was for the best, if she was going to get Archie and Veronica back. Betty forced a smile at Kevin. "I promise I won't do anything stupid."

Kevin didn't look convinced. The bell rang and after a withering look, the boy headed off to class. "Aren't you coming?" He frowned at her before he left. She shook her head with a quick smile. "I'll catch you up. I need to get something out of my locker."

But Betty didn't go to her locker. She rang her mom, insisting that she was auditioning for a play, and she needed old clothes. Of course Alice Cooper would do anything to help her daughter. "I'll look for some in your sister's room, Elizabeth." Alice had said, before ending the call. Betty's hands were shaking when she pushed her phone back into her pocket. She leaned against the line of lockers lining the hallways, and put her head in her hands, scratching her nails down her face. It stung. But she didn't care. Just as she was lifting her head to check her phone, she caught a flash of bright light in her peripheral. It lit up the whole hallway, and not one kid batted an eyelid. Betty felt sick. Kids were developing insane abilities and others chose to turn the other way.

Betty sighed. If she was going to get Jingle Jangle, there was no way she was getting it off of the asshole "Snake Prince" himself. She would rather die than intentionally satisfy Jughead Jones by asking him for his messed up drug which had turned her friends against her. But taking Jingle Jangle was the only way of getting answers and Betty was determined. She was going to have to get a little creative.

Betty took a deep breath. She never thought she'd be doing this. In fact, she had stuck her nose up at the very activity. Watching kids from afar as they bought from creepy dealers selling all kinds of street drugs. Archie and Veronica used to roll their eyes at it, muttering that their generation as a whole were just messed up druggies weighed down by stress, eagerly awaiting their next fix.

And here she was. Elizabeth Cooper. The girl voted most likely to become the first female president. About to buy drugs.

The kid was a freshman. Betty was sure of it. Which meant The Serpents weren't just dealing to Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. They were catering to first years too. Betty pasted a smile on her face. The boy was in her vicinity, standing outside the school reception looking shady. The school was quiet, since most kids were in class. The kid was clearly a dealer. Betty had been standing there for a a while, trying to memorize what she was going to say. But her anxiety spiked every time she took a step forwards.

He had The Serpent jacket on, a dark hoodie underneath pulled over thick brown hair. Betty had threw on an old pajama shirt and her sister Polly's sweater that her mom had brought. To complete her look she had made a mess of her hair, letting it hang in rats tails in her eyes. She couldn't look like- __herself__. If the dealer recognized her and told Jughead, she knew he'd get a kick out of seeing her like this. Because as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She couldn't just roll over and play dead, forgetting about her friends and letting them be consumed by The Serpents. There was no was she was losing them.

Before she could hesitate or think things over in her mind, Betty made her way over to the boy, and cleared her throat. The kid looked her up and down, his lips quirking into a smile. "Need anything, love?" He asked. Betty resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his prepubescent squeak. She nodded, and the boy's smile grew. "Would that be a hairbrush? Some deodorant?" Betty stiffened. She was pretty sure the sweater she was wearing hadn't been washed in a while. She'd found it in a pile of clothes Polly had just abandoned in the corner of her room. But this was good. Elizabeth Cooper wouldn't smell of BO or wear old scuffed up jeans with paint stains all over them. Her disguise was working- __sort of.__ Betty bit her lip against a retort. She'd love to tear into the kid about his cheap looking sweater, just to get even with him. But this was business. If she wanted things how they were then she'd have to grit her teeth and swallow her pride. "I need Jingle Jangle." She murmured in a dreamy voice, giving him her best whacked out grin.

The boy raised his eyebrows. " _ _You__ want Jingle Jangle?" He said incredulously. Betty nodded with a ditzy smile. "It's for my boyfriend." She giggled, biting down on her lip. "It gets you high right?" she twirled a strand of hair around her finger, channeling her inner ditzy Malibu girl. The guy grinned at her. "Something like that." He murmured. "How much do you want?"

Betty giggled. "Just enough for my boyfriend." She replied, with another hair-twirl. The kid reached into his pocket. "Does your boyfriend realize what he's getting himself into?" Voice crack. Betty was struggling to take the whole thing seriously when the kid sounded like a twelve year old. She shrugged, nodding. __"__ He knows the consequences.."

The boy nodded slowly. "Sweet." He smirked. "That'll be thirty dollars in cash." He frowned at her, raising his eyebrows when she stuffed her hands in her pocket and pulling out some cash. __Thirty dollars for Supernatural powers?__ She thought, handing over the money. __At least Jughead wasn't ripping kids off.__ The boy pulled out a small bag of white powder from his jacket. She inwardly flinched, but took the drugs with a small smile, thanking him. When she was walking away, the boy whistled loudly. "Remember to snort it, Betty!" He laughed, and she froze, twisting around. Betty felt ice slither down her spine when she realized the freshman boy was gone, and in his place stood none other than Reggie Mantle. He waved at her, grinning. __Shapeshifter.__ She didn't even need to think twice. Betty swallowed hard and turned away from him, forcing her legs to walk back into school.

"Welcome to The Serpents!" He called after her. She walked faster. Her heart pounded, her chest ached. It's amazing how fast you can make it from A to B when you're desperate. Betty was pushing the doors of the girls bathroom open, breathing hard, when there was a bang from the other side. "Betty!" She stiffened and locked the door, before stumbling over to the mirror. The door groaned when Kevin started throwing his weight into it. "Are you crazy? You don't even know what it'll do to you!" He yelled. "Betty, I swear to god, let me in!"

 _ _Stop__. Betty thought. She gripped the sides of the faucet so hard her hands turned white. She blocked out his cries, and the violent bangs shattering the door. She had to do this. Betty Cooper stared hard into the mirror, ignoring Kevin Keller's yells, and reached a shaky hand into her sweater for the little plastic baggie.

I can do this. She thought, shakily. I can do this.

 _'_ _ _Did you take it?' Jughead demanded, his dark eyes glowering at her. Betty didn't back down; she glared right back. 'Oh, so now you want to help me?' She spat and he looked momentarily taken aback. The boy hissed out an annoyed breath.__

 _'_ _ _It's a simple question, Cooper.' He growled, spacing out his words like she was a baby. 'Did. You. Take. It?' Betty shuffled uncomfortably. She took a few steps backwards and found herself pressed against the wall. The two boys only advanced closer.__

 _'_ _ _This is the girl's bathroom,' she ended up choking out, lamely. Her eyes were on the clear baggie which  
had landed on the floor in her panic. Jughead sighed, his tone softening.__

 _'_ _ _Look, all I want to know is if you've taken it.' Betty hesitated for a second.__

 _'_ _ _Yes.' She murmured, unable to meet his gaze. 'Yeah, I took it.' She kept her eyes glued to the floor. Her head was starting to thump. She started to panic. Oh god, why did I take it? 'Because you wouldn't help me.' She growled at the boy.__

 _ _She hated the way she sounded, like she was a little kid trying to explain herself. When she finally looked up though, to her surprise, she was met with two completely different expressions. One was Kevin. Staring at her in mute horror, his eyes wide… and then there was Jughead. His lips had curved into what she could only presume was a smile. She had never seen him smile. There was a glint in his eyes which was suddenly strangely enticing. 'Nice.' He smirked, losing the look of horror- of terror- that he had entered the girl's bathroom with. He looked Betty up and down before shrugging a little, his smirk fashioning into a fully fledged grin.__

 _'_ _ _Welcome to The Serpents, Betty Cooper.'__

"So," Jughead was still behind her, smiling hopefully. "How do you feel?" He asked softly. Kevin was next to him. He looked horrified. Betty was shaking. Her nostrils were burning, and she felt sick. "I'm fine." She managed, through gritted teeth. She turned to face the boy, momentarily taken aback at the genuine excitement in his eyes. "You can go now." She muttered. She was sure there were rules against guys being in the girl's bathroom. Betty glanced up, wincing when the lights in the bathroom suddenly seemed far too bright. She squeezed her eyes shut before reopening them and risked looking again.

They were back to normal. Just the crappy dim bulbs that the school had installed. Which made it almost impossible for girl's to take their generic "Off to class!" selfie. Betty used to be like that. She used to be one of them girls. But Jughead Jones had swooped into her life, an old memory from her childhood, and successfully managed to brainwash her friends and pressure her to take drugs. Betty could already feel it, even if she tried to deny it. The drug was in her bloodstream, slowly setting her on fire from the inside. She could already feel beads of sweat slipping down her neck. Part of her wanted to demand answers now that she had taken Jingle Jangle. But the other part- the much more dominant piece of her brain, was telling her to sit down. Her legs felt shaky. Jughead looked like he might protest or insist on staying with her, but with a small smile, he seemed to remember he was the bad guy and nodded. But he didn't step away. Instead, he got closer to her, so close she could feel his icy breath grazing her ear. "I'm having a little gathering tonight in Sweet-water woods," he murmured. "As soon as you come into your powers, I suggest you come." He chuckled lightly. "Your friends will be there. Don't worry about that."

Betty gripped the edges of the sink and glared at the floor of the girl's bathroom. "And if I __don't__ become a freak?" She said softly. Hopefully. Though the boy only chuckled, before backing away towards the door. "It differs for each kid. It took Archie Andrews a few hours to manifest. Reggie Mantle? About five minutes." He smiled brightly when she turned to him. "Just wait for the rush, Betty. It's incredible."

 _ _Archie__. Betty was still in denial that the boy had taken it, even when he had __admitted__ it. Jughead's words were like a punch to the gut. She shook her head, wincing when she was overcame by dizziness. . "No, I mean if I don''t get one at all." She growled.

Though Jughead shrugged, losing his smile now he knew she wasn't on board. "No kid has ever not developed a power, you idiot." Were his parting words. And as soon as he had gone, and Betty was absolutely sure the door had slammed behind him, she was slamming her fists down on the porcelain faucet with a cry. Tears sprung to her eyes and her legs felt ready to give-way. Kevin turned to her, his eyes blazing.

"Betty Cooper, do you realize what you've just done?" He hissed. Though his expression softened, when she finally broke down, sliding to her knees and letting the tears fall. Kevin joined her on the floor, bringing his knees to his chest. "How do you feel?" He murmured. Betty wanted to lie and tell him she didn't feel anything. That she __didn't__ feel like her whole body was burning and her head felt like someone stamping on it with stiletto's. "Fine." She managed. Though as soon as the word slipped from her mouth, the nausea in her stomach took a turn for the worst. Betty jumped up, diving into a stall and slamming the door shut. "Betty?" Kevin pounded on the door. __Bang, Bang, BANG.__ The noise was suddenly so loud, slamming into her skull.

"I said I'm fine!" Betty choked out a sob and hung her head over the toilet, waiting for her body to reject her crummy lunch. She squeezed her eyes shut, but nothing happened. "Betty?" Kevin's voice bounced around in her skull in different tones, possibly even different languages as her brain started to enter hyper-drive, her body sizzling. Betty stayed on her knees and blinked rapidly against the colorful spots invading her vision. When she was sure she wasn't going to hurl, she shakily got to her feet and opened the girls stall. Kevin stared at her as she wandered over to the faucet. Every step seemed harder and harder to take. She stumbled, but caught herself. The lights in the bathroom grew brighter and Betty found herself giggling at them. __So this is what it's like to be high?__ She thought. Betty managed to steel herself, gripping onto the faucet for support. Maybe she hadn't taken Jingle Jangle after all. Did Reggie supply her with just normal drugs? Betty could hear Kevin. But his voice sounded faded, like it was a million miles away. She could feel her entire body start to burn, like she'd just stepped inside a volcano. But for a moment, she didn't care. Her perception started to swirl as her brain did a spin, and suddenly her worries started to melt away. Archie and Veronica becoming Serpents? __Pfft! She didn't care.__ Super-powered teens taking over Riverdale? __Not her problem.__

And Jughead Jones? Betty shook her head, ridding herself of the image of him in her mind. His chocolate brown hair, his green eyes. His adorable smile…. But then then there was the new Jughead Jones. Who had been turned into a super villain. There was his condescending smile, that evil glint in his eye. Though strangely, Betty's chest still ached for him.

Betty stared down at her hands, her vision swimming in and out of focus. Lights. Her brain managed to register. Her arms were illuminated by the most beautiful glittering lights like she had just dipped them inside a rainbow. Betty giggled and waved them around, staring in disbelief as her arms started to flash on and off. Like a rave. "Betty? Did you take __actual__ acid?" Kevin hissed. He stepped in front of her, trying to grab her arms, but she yanked them back, pouting. Though in her mind, Kevin Keller was trying to take away her rainbow arms, and she wasn't going to let him. She staggered away from him, slamming her hands into the bathroom mirrors for support. Her mind was dancing, her body burning, to the rhythm of the Jingle Jangle igniting her veins. The burning wasn't going to stop, she realized, a piece of her returning to reality. Was she going to burn alive?

Betty felt her face, her neck, her entire body dripping with sweat. It soaked through her sweater and jeans. Her hair was damp, still tangled in her face. "Kevin…" She managed to whimper. But when she turned her head, the boy had gone. She was alone. Betty forced herself to focus. But her arms were still- they were still glowing, like an actual rainbow was streaming through her veins. Betty reached out to turn the faucet on, and let out a squeak when a wave of water splashed into her face. And just like that, the burning stopped. Her glowing arms dimmed, and she blinked rapidly through her soaking eyelashes. She hadn't even turned on the faucet. But when she reached forward…Betty experimentally held up her hand towards the faucet, and this time managed to jump back, when another stream of water burst from the sink. For a second, Betty stared. She stared at her arms which were still glowing dimly. And then she stared down at the flooded floor of the girl's bathroom. She was kneeling in ankle deep water.

 _ _Shit__. Betty shakily got to her feet, wading in the dirty water at the feet. So she could control water? Betty found herself scoffing. __What a lame ability.__ She eyed the rapidly growing pool at her feet, before an idea lit up her foggy mind. But when she put it into practice, twisting her hand clock-wise and then anti-clockwise, nothing happened. It became more and more clear the more she tried, whatever Betty had managed to do, wasn't going to happen again for the time being. She needed to find Kevin.

Where had he gone?

Betty panicked and made a beeline for the exit. The water was quickly flooding through the door, though she ignored it. Something inside her had changed. An almost lazy- ignorant feeling had appeared out of nowhere. She didn't want to clean the water up. All she wanted to do was find Kevin, and figure out what was going on. The second Betty's palms were pressed against the door however, a powerful gust of wind knocked into her, nearly blowing her off her feet. Betty managed to get through the door, stumbling back onto the hallway. Her mind was spinning. Wind. She had nearly been knocked over by a gust of __wind__ in a high school. Betty was trembling. She managed a few steps, before her legs finally collapsed underneath her. She felt herself hit the ground. First knees first. Quickly followed by face-planting the dusty hallway floor. She needed to get up, but her limbs ached. Her head was pounding, and she just wanted to sleep. So Betty closed her eyes and let darkness envelope her.

When Betty came to, she was moving. Her head was pressed against something warm. She smelt it automatically and jerked her head. Leather. For a small second she panicked that she was lying on a Serpents jacket, or worse still- a __Serpent__. Though when she opened her eyes, her face was pressed comfortably against the cosy upholstery seats in Kevin Keller's car. The movement made her feel sick again. She swallowed a groan. Everything ached. She had a vague memory of sitting in dirty water, and then a sudden gust of wind out of nowhere. __Powers__. The thought hit her. __She had actual powers like Archie and Veronica.__ Betty tried to focus on the music flowing through Kevin's speakers. It was some boy-band she didn't know the name of singing about "a great night".

Betty sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She squinted. Kevin was driving, his eyes on the road. He glanced into the back-mirror and let out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how hard it was to explain how the girl's bathroom had flooded, and that you, Betty Cooper, were unconscious in the corridor looking like a hobo." Kevin shook his head with a sigh. "I just told them you're under a lot of stress. He tapped the steering wheel in rhythm to the song playing. Though I could tell they knew I was lying. Whatever happened has Jingle Jangle written all over it." When Betty didn't answer, he cleared his throat. "So what exactly happened?"

Betty wasn't sure how to answer that without laughing _ _, or maybe crying.__ "No time." She managed to say, sitting up. Whatever powers she did have, weren't nearly as exciting enough to gloat about. She could __maybe__ splash people with water, and had somehow summoned a gust of wind. She wasn't exactly ready to become an Avenger. Betty swallowed. Her throat was dry. She'd kill for a glass of water. When she glanced outside, the sky was a darkening twilight. Jughead's so-called gathering. She remembered. "Can you take me to Sweet-water woods?" She asked, and Kevin frowned. "You mean for that psycho's party?" He scoffed. "Well, you're invited, since you inhaled death into your lungs."

"Kevin-" Betty started to explain herself. Though she wasn't sure what she was trying to explain. There had been other ways to try and expose Jughead's gang, get it shut down- and her friends back. But when he had held out the little baggie in front of her, dangling it like a toy. She'd seen red. Betty had __wanted__ it. No matter how hard she tried to tell herself she didn't.

"Save it." Kevin muttered. "As long as I get to come? Sure. I'll take you." He took a turn down White-chapel road. Betty could already recognize the long dusty path leading to Sweet-water. She leaned back into the seats and watched the sky grow darker, until it was almost pitch black. Kevin pulled over at a clearing that lead into the woods and shut the engine off. "Are you sure about this?" He got out of the car and slammed the drivers side shut and Betty winced. "What if they sacrifice you to a pagan god or something?"

"Thanks for putting that thought in my head." She muttered. But sent the boy a playful smile.

Betty followed suite and shivered, once she was standing on the road. They were in the middle of nowhere and she could detect laughter and loud chatter riding on the wind. The cold air played with strands of her hair, and Betty wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. When Kevin came to join her, pulling his phone out of his pocket and flicking on the flashlight, Betty took a deep breath. "Kevin, you can't come with me." She murmured. "It's…" She trailed off, but Kevin snorted loudly. "It's Serpents only?"

She sighed. "Look, I'm not even going to the party. I'm getting Archie and Veronica and dragging them out of there. Can you just stay in the car and wait for us?" When Kevin scowled, she pulled her best puppy-eyed look. "Please?"

Kevin groaned. "Fine." He handed her his phone for light, and took a step back. "If you're not back in twenty minutes, I'm coming in after you." He muttered. Betty nodded. "Twenty minutes. I promise." She hugged him quickly, noticing he was damp with sweat. Kevin's neck was clammy. When she really looked at him, his shirt had patches all the way down his chest. She opened her mouth, but Kevin shrugged. "I think I'm coming down with something." He muttered, before retreating back into his car. Betty could only nod silently. __Did he…?__ Betty forced the thought back into her mind. No way. Kevin wasn't stupid. He would never do drugs.

Except she had. Veronica and Archie had. Betty tried hard not to think about Kevin being the latest victim of Jingle Jangle and stepped into the woods. Using Kevin's phone, she easily navigated her way through thick brush. She tripped a few times, but managed to stay on her feet. Betty was starting to regret wearing her sister's huge sweater. She pulled it off, leaving Betty in a skimpy pajama shirt and some ratty jeans from her disguise. The cool air tickled against the skin and when she risked a look at the sky, the moon was hanging overhead, drenching the sky in a pretty purple smear. Betty stopped dead when she caught sight of a fire a few meters away. She stared at it. For some reason she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away. The oranges and yellows seemed to envelope each other, meeting in bursts of glittering sparks. Betty caught herself for a second.

Was she really about to spy on a bunch of Super-powered teens?

She caught silhouettes in the distance, all sitting together talking and laughing. When she edged closer, discreetly ducking behind a large rock jutting out of the ground, she saw them. The Serpents. Veronica was hard to miss. She was hovering a few feet from the air, her wings spread out. She wore a short red dress and was barefoot. Her hair was a wavy mess, tangled in her face as she laughed, clutching a beer. Betty's stomach turned at the sight of her best friend, truly on the dark-side. But she was distracted when she saw Jughead Jones- The Serpent Prince- as Kevin had named him. He was sitting on the log they were all piled on, his dark hair still hidden under that knitted beanie. His lips were stretched into a smile as he mimed something, sounding like he was eagerly discussing the plot of a film he clearly enjoyed. Betty wasn't sure if it was the drugs giving her some kind of heightened senses. But she could see him perfectly. He had never stood out more, his Green eyes sparkling, the creases in his cheeks as he grinned wildly. When Betty really focused on him, she could almost detect a colorful glow emitting from him. Like an aura. It was the brightest Blue she had ever seen. Betty's gaze left him for a moment, and settled on Archie Andrews who was sitting next to Jughead. Once again the boy didn't seem to understand the meaning of personal space. His head of red curls was resting on Jughead's shoulder as he giggled at whatever Jughead was saying. This time Archie wasn't wearing his Ray-Bans. And now Betty knew why.

When she stared at the boy, his brown eyes were ringed with burning orange light circling his iris's. Archie had never looked more beautiful- almost breathtaking. It looked like his eyes were on fire. That must be his power- something to do with his glowing eyes. But the way his head was on Jughead's shoulder, his body pressed into the other boy's. It set something off in Betty's gut. Her chest tightened, her heart started to thud. Was she _ _jealous?__ Who was she jealous of though? Jughead leaning into the red-headed boy, clearly enjoying his company, or Archie with his face practically nestled into Jughead's neck? Betty glared at the two boys. Her fists tightened. To her surprise, the fire wavered for a second, before going completely out. The flames seemed to curl into billowing smoke and there were confused murmurs, before Archie and Jugehead looked directly at her. And she swore, both of their eyes lit up almost as bright as the had-been fire. Archie scowled, but Jughead's lips tweaked into a brilliant smile.

Did she put the fire out? Betty didn't have time to try again. They'd seen her.

Before she could think, however, she was overcome with exhaustion. It seemed to overwhelm her, stiffening her limbs, turning them to lead.

"Betty Cooper?" She managed to lift her gaze to find Jughead getting to his feet. She let out a soft cry. "Get away from me.." She tried to say, but her voice was a whisper. She stared at the palms of her hands and pointed them at the boy, who was making his way over, his expression twisted with worry.

 _ _Worry?__ Her mind clouded with confusion. Betty felt the slightest gust of wind carry her slightly, but she was too weak. She took a few steps backwards, tripping over the uneven ground and falling onto her back.

"Hey Cooper, nice of you to join us." Jughead murmured as he loomed over her with Archie and Veronica by his side.

The three of them looked like they were standing over her grave. Archie was frowning at her, his eyes still burning rings. She couldn't even detect recognition in his expression. Veronica looked bored. Her dark hair dangled in her face as she stared down at Betty as she struggled to say awake. Jughead's dark hair was tousled, hanging in his eyes. She must have been still high from the drugs because she suddenly wanted to play with it. Betty stared at them for a moment longer, her heart in her throat. The three of them were washed in their own aura's, colors swimming around them. Though Archie and Veronica were a terrifying black, shrouded in shadow, while Jughead was still a pretty light blue.

"Stay- away-" Betty hissed out at them before her eyelids fluttered shut, trapping her in her own mind. She started screaming at her body to wake up, to make a run for it. But she was so tired. So tired… Once again, for the second time that day, she allowed herself to fall.


End file.
